COAS Gen Upendra Dwivedi inspecting the guard of honour during the NDA 150th Course’s passing-out-parade ceremony at the Khetarpal Parade Ground in the institution. (Photo: HQ IDS)
Khadakwasla, Pune: The National Defence Academy’s 150th Course passed out on Saturday morning at the Khetarpal Parade Ground here in Pune’s Khadakwasla. The chief of the Army staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, reviewed the parade of 353 cadets – among them 292 are from the Army, 43 from the Navy, and 81 from the IAF. This includes 18 female cadets and 24 cadets from 12 friendly foreign countries.
Cadet Mayank Chaudhary led the parade. Cadets Rohit Kajale (India Squadron) recevived the President’s Gold Medal, Peeyush Rautela (Mike Squadron) the Silver, and Sahil Sharma (Bravo Squadron) the Bronze. The Chiefs of Staff Banner went to Charlie Squadron.
The grand ceremony, held at 6.40am, saw the graduating cadets march past in a display of military precision and discipline before formally joining the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force. The cohort will now proceed to their respective pre-commissioning academies – the Indian Military Academy, the Naval Academy, or the Air Force Academy – before being commissioned as officers.
Gen Upendra Dwivedi presenting the Chiefs of Staff Banner to the captain of the Charlie Company. (Photo: HQ IDS)
The ceremony included the inspection of contingents, presentation of medals and awards, fly-pasts by military aircraft and helicopters, and the traditional Antim Pag (the final step) – a deeply symbolic moment in which the graduating cadets march off the Khetarpal Parade Ground as NDA trainees for the last time.
The aerial display featured Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets operating out of Lohegaon Air Force Station, Chetak helicopters in formation, precision aerobatics by the Sarang helicopter aerobatics team, and a skydiving demonstration by the Akash Ganga team.
As India Sentinels reported on Friday, for Gen Dwivedi, the occasion carried particular weight. An alumnus of the NDA’s 65th Course, he returned to his alma mater as the nation’s most senior Army officer, having trained at Charlie Squadron before embarking on a career spanning nearly four decades – from a young cadet in January 1981 to the 30th chief of the Army staff.
In his address, Gen Dwivedi invoked Operation Sindoor as the defining standard the new officers must uphold. The integrated, joint response demonstrated during the operation, he said, was built on the foundation the NDA lays – jointness not as a concept to study, but lived alongside soldiers of all three services from the first day of training.
He told the cadets that the precision and resolve shown during Operation Sindoor had set a benchmark, and that benchmark now belonged to them. “Today’s security environment demands that those who serve must think sharply as they act,” he said, noting that the boundary between competition and conflict had blurred and threats no longer arrive in uniform or on a declared front.
On the qualities essential for officers, he outlined three in deliberate sequence – attitude, adaptability, and ability – and urged cadets to nurture all three with discipline, curiosity, and courage. On leadership, he was direct: “Lead so that your soldiers choose to follow – not because they must, but because they trust you.”
Gen Dwivedi acknowledged the 18 female cadets passing out with the course, noting with explicit pride that they had stood in every formation, met every standard, and on the parade square were indistinguishable from anyone else. “Courage and resolve know no gender,” he said, adding that combat has always been gender-neutral.
The 150th Course builds on a structural shift that began with the 148th Course in May 2025, which was the first to include women cadets in NDA’s history. He also addressed the foreign cadets directly, telling them that friendships forged at the academy often sustain peace between nations long before rank and command enter the picture.
On the sidelines of the convocation ceremony held on Friday at Habibullah Hall, Sushant Varma of P Squadron, who topped the social science stream, spoke about his academic growth at the NDA. “I was an average kid in academics. After coming to NDA, I have started focusing on the basics,” Varma said. J Squadron cadet Ranvijay Tyagi, who topped the computer science stream, credited his parents and seniors. “I thank my parents for inculcating this habit of learning in me since school time. I took the help of my seniors and took guidance from them,” Tyagi said.
Closing his address to the graduating cadets, Gen Dwivedi returned to the academy’s founding motto – Seva Parmo Dharma (service above all) – and told them that in every moment where duty and comfort pull in different directions, that is the answer they must carry forward.
The NDA, currently under the command of Vice Admiral Anil Jaggi, takes in school graduates and puts them through a three-year programme of military training and academic education – a model that has remained the backbone of India’s officer-making tradition since the institution’s founding.
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